Barony of Ashby Ashby Principal Baronies Seat/County Lincolnshire Source IJ Saunders Date History of Lordship Monarchs 871 Creation of the English Monarchy Alfred the Great 871-899 Edward Elder 899-924 Athelstan 924-939 Edmund I 939-946 Edred 946-955 Edwy 955-959 Edgar 959-975 Edward the Martyr 975-978 Ethelred 978-1016 Edmund II 1016 Canute 1016-1035 Harold I 1035-1040 Harthacnut 1040-1042 Edward the Confessor 1042-1066 Harold II 1066 1066 Norman Conquest- Battle of Hastings William I 1066-1087 1086 Domesday William II 1087-1100 Henry I 1100-35 Stephen 1135-54 1162 King Henry grants the Barony of Ashby to Gilbert de Neville, Henry II 1154-89 whose father is believed to have been an Admiral to William the Conqueror. 1166/9 Gilbert’s lordships total 9 knights fees, which he has built up during his lifetime, when he dies aged 84 leaving a son and heir Geoffrey, the 2nd Baron. 1193 Geoffrey dies leaving a son and heir Henry, the 3rd Baron. Richard I 1189-99 1215 Magna Carta John 1199-1216 1215-1217 First Barons War Henry III 1216-72 1227 Henry dies with no direct heir, so his sister Isabel inherits becoming the 4th Baron. Isabel is married to Robert fitz Maldred, a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon king Aethelred the Unready, who acts as Baron in the right of Isabel. Robert adopts the Neville surname as a recognition of Isabel’s wealth and position in society. Robert is also feudal Baron of Raby and Brancepeth Durham. Isabel takes over the responsibility of Sheriff of Hutton and Brancepeth. © Copyright Manorial Counsel Limited 2014 Barony of Ashby Date History of Lordship Monarchs 1230 Robert is sent overseas on the King’s service. 1235 Robert is named a commissioner to collect aid (irregular tax) in Northumberland. 1238 Robert is appointed a commissioner to hold pleas (similar to a judge in a criminal court now) in Durham. 1241 Robert fights in King Henry’s campaign against the Welsh. 1248 Robert is now a very old man and dies so Isabel re-marries. Her second husband is Gilbert de Brakenberg a Lincolnshire tenant. 1254 Isabel dies, and as all Isabel’s children have predeceased her the barony passes to her grandson, Sir Robert de Neville the 5th Baron. 1258 Sir Robert is made warden of the castles of Bamborough and Newcastle-on-Tyne and governor of the castles of Norham and Werk. He is also commanded to rescue the King of the Scots from the Scottish barons. 1260 Sir Robert is called again into military service, this time against the Welsh. 1261 Sir Robert becomes the Justice of the Forests beyond the Trent. 1263 Sir Robert is appointed one of the Council of Fifteen who are responsible for ensuring that King Henry III accepts the Provisions of Oxford. The 15 create Parliaments that meet 3 times a year. He is made Sheriff of Yorkshire. He is made General Commander of the King’s forces beyond the Trent. 1264 Sir Robert is made Chief Justice of Forests. He visits King Henry in his captivity but remains loyal to the barons. 1264-1267 Second Barons War 1267 With the defeat of the barons Sir Robert is again made Chief Justice of the Forests beyond the Trent and appointed Governor of various castles. 1275 Sir Robert is made Chief Assessor in the northern counties. Edward I 1272-1307 © Copyright Manorial Counsel Limited 2014 Barony of Ashby Date History of Lordship Monarchs 1277 Sir Robert receives custody of Scarborough Castle. 1282 Sir Robert dies, his eldest son having pre-deceased him, the barony passes to his grandson Ralph, who is the 6th Baron. 1295 Ralph is granted a peerage, Lord Neville of Raby. 1325 Ralph is appointed Keeper of the Peace. Edward II 1307-27 1331 Ralph dies having been married twice and had 14 children. His Edward III 1327-77 heir is his son of the same name, the 7th Baron. 1334 Ralph and Lord Percy are made joint wardens of the Northern Marches and entrusted with important negotiations with Scotland. Ralph is also Governor of Bamborough Castle and Warden of the Forests north of the Trent. 1338 King Edward is badly short of money and Ralph is one of the barons to come to his aid with a loan of wool from his Yorkshire estates. 1342 Ralph assists with the negotiation of a truce with Scotland. 1346 David Bruce, King of Scotland invades England and Ralph with his eldest son and William de la Zouch take victory at Red Hills saving the city of Durham and taking David Bruce captive. 1355 Ralph is made Governor of Berwick. 1367 Ralph dies and is the first layman to be buried in Durham Cathedral. His heir is his eldest son Sir John the 8th Baron. 1368 Sir John is summoned to Parliament as a peer. He is put on the commission entrusted with the custody of the East March on the Scottish border. 1369 Sir John is appointed Admiral of the Fleet from the Thames northwards. 1372 The English are losing ground in France and Sir John is commissioned to negotiate an offensive and defensive alliance with the Duke of Brittany. He is ordered to take 600 men to Brittany and take charge of their joint force. © Copyright Manorial Counsel Limited 2014 Barony of Ashby Date History of Lordship Monarchs 1376 Sir John is made Steward of King Edwards’s household. He suffers the wrath of the Good Parliament and is impeached on 3 counts; buying up the King’s debts, for allowing his troops to plunder and outrage at Southampton in 1372 and for causing the loss of several Breton fortresses by neglecting to supply the force of men he had undertaken to supply. The Commons petition that Sir John should lose all his offices and is sentenced to make restitution to those injured and pay a fine of 8,000 marks. 1377 Parliament reverses the 1376 judgement. Sir John is entrusted Richard II 1377-1399 with the Scottish border and on the accession of Richard II he is made Governor of Bamborough Castle. 1378 Sir John is appointed Lieutenant of the King in Aquitane and given authority to negotiate a treaty with the King of Arragon and the Count of Foix. Sir John obtains a licence to castellate and fortify Raby Castle which he has spent many years building. 1381 During his lieutenancy Sir John is credited with recovering 83 towns, castles and forts. 1388 Sir John is placed on a commission to negotiate a treaty with Scotland after being tasked with surveying the fortifications on the Scottish border. He dies leaving a son and heir Sir Ralph, the 9th Baron. 1389 Sir Ralph is made Keeper of the Forests north of the Trent for life. 1393/4 Sir Ralph is employed negotiating peace with Scotland. 1396 Sir Ralph’s wife dies and shortly after he remarries, Joan Beaufort daughter of 1st Duke of Lancaster and grand-daughter of Edward III. 1397 King Richard makes Sir Ralph the 1st Earl of Westmoreland as a reward for supporting him against the Lords Appellant. 1398 King Richard banishes Henry Bolingbroke, Sir Ralph’s brother-in-law. Sir Ralph supports Henry against the King. © Copyright Manorial Counsel Limited 2014 Barony of Ashby Date History of Lordship Monarchs 1399 Sir Ralph and the Earl of Northumberland are part of the Henry IV 1399-1413 delegation at the Tower to receive King Richard’s abdication. Sir John carries the small sceptre at the coronation of Henry IV. Sir Ralph is also rewarded with a lifetime appointment as Earl Marshall, a lifetime grant of the Honour of Richmond, several wardships and appointed to the King’s Council. 1402 Sir Ralph is made a Knight of the Garter and is a strong supporter of Henry IV. 1403 The Percys, who are the other great northern family, take up arms against the King. King Henry orders Sir Ralph to raise troops and prevent the dissenter’s army from advancing south. Sir Ralph is successful and as a reward he is given the wardenship of the West March which the Percys had held since 1399. 1405 The Percys with 400 men make a surprise attack on Witton-le- Wear Castle to capture Sir Ralph. Their plan fails and Sir Ralph with King Henry’s son, John of Lancaster gather an army to face an 8,000 strong Percy army led by Archbishop Scrope and the Earl of Norfolk. Sir Ralph is severely outnumbered but manages to trick the opposing armies’ leaders saying they would agree to their demands and guarantee their safety. Once the Scrope army is disbanded the leaders are arrested and condemned to death for treason. Sir Ralph is sent north to seize the Northumberland castles. As a reward for quelling the rebellion with minimal bloodshed Sir Ralph receives a large grant of the Percy lands in Cumberland and Northumberland. 1415 Sir Ralph defeats a Scottish army that has invaded England at Henry V 1413-22 the Battle of Yeaving. 1422 Sir Ralph is appointed a member of the Council of Regency Henry VI 1422-61 1470-71 while King Henry VI is a minor. 1425 Sir Ralph dies, his eldest son John having pre-deceased him in 1420 the barony passes to his grandson Ralph 2nd Earl of Westmoreland, the 10th Baron. His grandfather leaves a substantial portion of his lands to his wife and her children. Ralph is to spend many years trying to recover these lands. 1426 Ralph is knighted by King Henry VI.